I love the sea. I love its fury. I love its calming presence.
I love the ebb and flow.
So much life and movement and energy.
It is, at once, destructive and regenerative.
I could sit and watch the sea for hours. And sometimes we do.
My loves, both, also enchanted by the sea.
But today, she also wanted to fly.
It was a crisp October morning, 21 years ago that I moved to Seattle. I was 21 years old. That’s half my life.
I was the girl from the small town in Alaska. I had a line on a job, and a line on an apartment and roommates. Neither were set in stone. It was all a big gamble.
My friend, Russ, picked me up at the airport and drove me to the place I was staying. He pointed out landmarks along the way, as I experienced Seattle traffic for the first time, and the downtown towers loomed in the distance. I was at the same time wondering what I’d gotten myself into, and falling in love with my new home town.
The most important and amazing events of my life happened right here in Seattle.
I fell in love. I fell in love again when my child was born. I beat back cancer. I grew into my own skin and learned to love myself. I surrounded myself with intelligent, authentic, and compassionate people who share my values. Of course these things can be done anywhere, but in Seattle, the fit was right.
Access to art, culture, education, excellent medical care, urban villages with a small town feel and the benefits of a big city, mountains and water – yes, I definitely {heart} Seattle.
The theme for her best friend/cousin’s birthday party was superheroes, and my girl was determined to go to this party as Super Girl.
Who is Super Girl? She’s the bestest. She rescues people and stops the bad guys and she’s super fast.
We looked at a lot of superhero costumes, but none of the were fast enough. She needed a super fast costume. And it had to have red in it. And arm bands. And glasses with a crown attached to the top.
Where does she come up with this stuff?
I had my work cut out for me. I came up with this logo, with the star and the words “Super Girl,” but Super Girl said “it wasn’t fast enough.”
And it had to have fire. You can’t have Super Girl without fire.
Back to the drawing board.
Then I came up with this.
When I showed it to her, she smiled and laughed in a way that let me know I was finally moving in the right direction.
Next we had to figure out to which wardrobe items this logo would be affixed. We did not try on every article of clothing she owned, but we came close.
The morning of the party I was still making changes to the logo, and her outfit… Oh, and don’t forget the glasses with the crown attached.
I almost forgot the glasses. Last minute printout of a small version of the logo pasted to a piece of paper I cut out in a shape that approximated a crown, with holes the glasses’ temples could slip through to hold it in place.
Whew! done.
And to make everything that much better, when we got to the party, they had capes!
Happy Birthday, Bella! 🙂
Bonus: Halloween costume is done.
What have you been up to?
Hot, humid, and swarming with tropical butterflies of all colors and sizes, the Pacific Science Center Tropical Butterfly House is a touch of the tropics right here in Seattle – and a great way to spend the afternoon with your favorite kid, or kid at heart.
Gem was so taken with the idea that a butterfly might land on her that she stood completely still for what felt like F O R E V E R (and probably even longer for her) waiting for one to come and say hi. The rules were very strict: NO TOUCH! However, if a butterfly lands on you, well that’s their choice. It took a while, and Gem managed to keep from reaching out and touching them, and finally one crawled right up on her finger. She was elated.
The butterflies would often land right on the floor, so it was important to watch your step carefully. Occasionally one of the butterflies would be sitting on the floor injured. Stepped on? Perhaps. Or it could have been injured elsewhere, and then just landed on the floor to catch it’s breath. Gem was looking for a butterfly under this caution sign, with no idea a blue morpho was fluttering around right next to her.
I kept thinking that the Pacific Science Center would be a great place to take her when she gets older – but I was missing out. It’s really appropriate for all ages – and even has a toddler explore area for the littlest ones.
We are fans of dinosaurs in this house – note the picture on my little girl’s sweatshirt.
When we saw this dinosaur parking sign, we just had to stop and get pictures.
What made you smile this week?
